You will hear about constructive and healt hy ways to approach the college application process\, preserve your relati onship with your teen\, and help them define success on their terms instea d of chasing the elusive &ldquo\;golden ticket.&rdquo\;
\nIrena is a former Stanford Admissions Officer who has spent 18 years advising accomp lished\, tightly-wound students in Palo Alto and around the world. She saw firsthand the extreme measures parents took to help their children gain a dmission to highly selective colleges and the toll it took on the children as well as on their parents.
\nAt the same time\, Irena&rsquo\;s ow n children struggled with developmental delays\, learning differences\, se vere depression\, and anxiety. She kept her double life&mdash\;successful college counselor at work\, anxious mom at home&mdash\;tightly under wraps for years until a stunning realization: she was exactly like the anxious parents of the students she worked with\, all of whom were equally terrifi ed about \;their \;children's future. Irena&rsquo\;s memoir\, \;The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays\, which candidly explores her personal as well as professional life\, was publishe d in 2023\, and she has since devoted her time to speaking out about hard things: the heavy burden of generational expectations\, teen and young adu lt mental health\, and the importance of embracing a broader\, more genero us vision of what it means to succeed. To learn more about Irena&rsquo\;s personal experience as a parent\, professional experience as a college adm issions officer\, and leave with tips on how to help your child approach t he application process in practical\, healthy ways&ndash\;register now!
\nAbout the Author: \;Irena Smith is an author\, former Stanford admissions officer\, independent college counselor\, and m other of three extraordinary children. She emigrated from the former Sovie t Union with her parents when she was nine years old. In spite of her fier ce insistence that she would never\, not ever\, learn English\, she went o n to earn a BA in English and then a PhD in Comparative Literature (both f rom UCLA\, where she received a Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award and Dissertation Year Fellowship). Irena taught literature and composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to college admissions\, college ad vising\, and writing. Her recently published memoir\, \;The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays \;is the winner of t he Story Circle Network's Gilda Award\, named in honor of comedian Gilda R adner to recognize honest\, authentic writing that "makes us laugh even wh en we want to cry." It's been described by Forbes as &ldquo\;captivating a nd smart&hellip\; a potential antidote to the fevered belief that being ad mitted to an elite college will spell the difference between a successful life vs. a doomed future.&rdquo\; \;
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